


Stars Hide Your Fires (deleted scene)

by tresa_cho



Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Daemon, Angst, Deleted Scene, Drama, Hurt, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 05:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tresa_cho/pseuds/tresa_cho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deleted scene from Stars Hide Your Fires; the rescue</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars Hide Your Fires (deleted scene)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stars Hide Your Fires](https://archiveofourown.org/works/519175) by [tresa_cho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tresa_cho/pseuds/tresa_cho). 



> [Stars Hide Your Fires](http://archiveofourown.org/works/519175/chapters/917282) is a chaptered fic that this scene is from. I would recommend reading it before trying to read this, otherwise this short will not make sense.

Jim ripped his helmet off before the compartment had fully pressurised. His ears popped, but he flexed his jaw and tried to ignore the sensation. Spock opened the airlock door, his eyebrows pinched together.

“The rip is closed. Find Fritjof, get them off my ship,” Jim said. “Have Moxie and Gaila meet me in the transporter room. Now.”

Jim ran to the transporter room as fast as the bulky pressure suit would let him. He shucked the thermal gloves and threw himself into the chair behind the console as Gaila and Moxie burst into the room, breathless.

“Where's Leonard?” Gaila asked instantly.

“You're going to help me find him,” Jim said. “He's passed through the fabric of the universe.”

“Right,” Moxie said. “That makes things difficult.”

She strode to the console and slid under it, yanking a panel free. Gaila crouched beside her, eyes flicking between Moxie's hands and the read outs on the screen. Moxie yanked a bundle of cords out in a shower of sparks.

“How much time does he have left?” she asked.

“His suit has a good two hours of air, but he was bad off-”

Something slammed against Jim's back, and he started. Gaila's eyes went wide. She reached to help him with the snaps of the suit's pack, and Kaira exploded out of the pack with an ear-shattering shriek. Gaila tugged the rest of the suit off, and Jim stumbled out of it, trying to go after Kaira.

Aakhai barreled into the transporter room. He took a flying leap and tackled Kaira out of the air. They tumbled to the floor in a tangle of feathers and fur, and Jim fell to his knees beside Aakhai. He had pinned Kaira's wings to the ground with his front paws. She cried and screamed, and Jim reached for her with shaking hands.

“Kaira,” Jim said, “Kaira, I need you to calm down. We're going to get him back. I swear it. I need you calm.”

Jim tried to pick her up, but she fought him, talons sinking into his skin through his scuffed uniform. Jim tightened his grip, drawing her to his chest as she squirmed.

“Jim-”

“Give me a minute,” Jim said sharply. He curled his shoulders over Kaira, holding her from slipping free of his grasp. Aakhai pressed his face to Kaira's warmth, weathering her frantic strikes. “Kaira, calm down. I need you to calm down.”

Kaira wore herself out, slumping in Jim's arms. Her chest fluttered, hyperventilating, and her black eyes were wide and terrified. Jim hunched over her further, trying to surround her in warmth. He dug his fingers into her feathers, and Aakhai shifted closer. Together, they held Kaira until her heart slowed and she could breathe smoothly.

“Jim,” Gaila said again. Jim took a steadying breath and lifted his head. “We need your help.”

He stood, carefully cradling Kaira against his chest, and returned to his chair at the console. “Got anything?”

“The Enterprise is trying, I can feel her shifting the barriers of the universe, but there's only so much she can do with the power she's got.” Moxie's voice was muffled around a wire clenched in her teeth. “I'm having trouble with the equations.”

“I can help.”

Jim spun in his chair, and let out a hoarse laugh when Scotty stomped into the room. He leaned over Gaila's shoulder and skimmed the screen.

“Spock's working on the rest of the crew. Fritjof is rounding up the last of the Nareel. The ship is ours, Captain,” Scotty said. “Here.” He jabbed a finger at the screen. “You can break the quantum resonance barrier with a specific plasma pulse.”

“That still doesn't solve the problem of how we're going to find him,” Moxie said. “Universes are big.”

Jim caught Moxie's eye. “The frequency generator.”

Moxie sat up so quickly she almost cracked her head on the console. Nudging Jim to one side, she threw herself at the controls. “I can pinpoint the last known trace of the frequency- Wait. It's still going. I'm still getting a reading in that wavelength...”

“He's alive,” Jim said with conviction. “He's still transmitting. Bring him home.”

“I've got a lock-on,” Gaila said. Moxie hauled herself off the ground and leaned over Gaila's shoulder. The lights flickered, and Jim stared at the transporter pad, willing it to rip Bones from the other universe and set him where he belonged. On the Enterprise. With Jim.

Gaila gasped as the console short-circuited, and jerked her hands back. The power failed, and the console went dark. Jim stared at it, heart thundering. “Did it-”

“Captain!” Scotty pointed to the pad.

Jim almost fell on his face in his haste to get out of the chair. He was only vaguely aware of Gaila stumbling after him, and he collapsed to his knees on the transporter pad next to a suited figure. Freed, Kaira circled his head in tight rings, watching him tear the fastening of the suit in his haste to get it off.

The helmet came free, and Jim curled a hand around the back of Bones' neck, protecting his head. Gaila hissed in frustration and drew her boot knife to make short work of the rest of the suit. Jim chased her hands, peeling the suit away from clammy skin.

“No, no, no-” Jim pressed his fingers to the pulse point at Bones' throat. Nothing but cool, lifeless skin. He dragged Bones into his lap, fingers pressing deep into cold flesh. This wasn't right. “Get a medical team in here.”

“Sir, they're still unconscious-”

“Get me _something_ ,” Jim said, his fingers slipping in Bones' blood. The bandage he had strapped to Bones' chest was soaked through, and the inside of the helmet was specked with red.

“He's dead, Jim,” Gaila said, reaching for him.

Jim knocked her hand away. “We can still save him.”

“Jim-”

“We can still save him,” Jim said, biting the words. “Help me.”

He lifted under Bones' armpits, and Gaila grabbed his legs. They lifted, and made it to the door with their burden when Scotty appeared in the hall with a stretcher. He helped them lay Bones down, and they took off for Medical.

They burst through the doors to Medical, and Spock intercepted Jim at the door, holding him back, away from Bones.

“Sir-”

“Let me go, Spock. I've got to see to my man.”

“The doctors are more than capable of performing their job,” Spock said. His hand formed a solid barrier between Jim and Bones. “I have revived the necessary medical staff to attend Doctor McCoy's body-”

“He's _not dead_!”

Gaila froze, her eyes wide, staring at him. Everyone was staring at him. Motion in Medical ground to a halt, and Jim took a step back, losing the solid heat of Spock's hand at his chest.

The air burned Jim's lungs. He sucked in a painful breath. Exhaled.

Aakhai trotted to his side and pushed his muzzle under Jim's hand.

“I-” Jim bit his tongue. He realised he was shaking. Badly. “I'm compromised. Spock. I-I need you to-”

“Yes, Jim,” Spock said. “I will inform you when the doctors have finished. You are dismissed.”

Jim didn't see him walk away. Aakhai nudged him gently in the back of his knees, and Jim moved out of the way of his revived crew exiting Medical. His daemon led him to a secluded corner of the room, where he sank to the floor behind a bed and drew his legs to his chest.

His heart skipped a beat. “Kaira-”

“She's here, Jim,” Aakhai said over him.

Jim heard the flutter of wings upon the air, and when he lifted his head, Kaira slipped into his arms. He pulled her close, wondering if Bones held her like this. If he had felt the hum of her small heart against his fingers.

“I'm sorry,” Jim said into her feathers. “I'm sorry.”

“Not your fault. He chose this,” she said.

Jim lowered his head into his knees, protecting Kaira from the world. Aakhai sat beside them, leaning against Jim.

It couldn't have been more than half an hour when Spock approached, his steps quiet. “I'm sorry, Jim.”

Jim lifted his head. Spock closed his eyes.

“They've placed Doctor McCoy's body in a thermal regulator to prevent further damage. He sustained heavy damage to his right lung. That, compounded with an aggressive onset of hyperventilation overtaxed his body. He drowned. He was dead before he was brought on board,” Spock said.

“Tell them to keep going,” Jim said. His voice was cracked and hollow. “You have to.”

“There is nothing to 'keep going' on, Jim,” Spock said. He crouched in front of Jim. He held out a PADD. It displayed a death certificate for one Leonard Horatio McCoy. “You need to let him go.”

Jim snatched the PADD from Spock's hand. A few quick keystrokes and the certificate was gone, erased as if it had never existed. He handed the PADD back to Spock, anger sinking into his chest. “Tell them to keep going.”

“Jim-”

“ _Please_ , Spock,” Jim said. Aakhai whined softly, sinking to the floor with his head in his paws. “We have the best medical technology in the galaxy. What use is it if we can't save one man?”

“Medicine can only do so much,” Spock said. “You must sign the certificate recognising the body.”

“There's no certificate,” Jim said. “There's no body. You force them to keep working. You're the captain, god damn it. You can't lose one of your best men like this.”

“Stand down, Mr Kirk,” Spock said, leveling his eyes at Jim. Jim realised he had gotten to his feet at some point. His body hummed with barely contained anger. “Do not force me to do something we will both regret.”

“The only thing you will regret will be letting Bone's body cool on the table,” Jim said. Aakhai growled low, warning. Jim ignored him.

“Stand down,” Spock said again. His ears flushed a light green. Jim felt high on the fury coiling inside him.

“Your first order as captain is to give up on the man who saved the entire ship?” Jim asked, taking a dangerous step into Spock's personal space.

“My first order as captain is for you to return to your quarters and settle your spirit,” Spock said. “Leonard's family needs to be notified.”

Jim swung.

Aakhai yelped, his claws skittering on the tile. Spock ducked the wild swing and smoothly smashed his fist into Jim's face. Jim staggered back, hitting the wall with his shoulders. Before he could make another move, Aakhai lunged between them paws up on his shoulders holding him, pinning him to the wall.

“Jim,” Aakhai said.

“Nobody else dies for me,” Jim said, his voice ringing in the sudden, oppressive silence. He sucked in a shuddering breath. “Nobody. Else.”

Spock breathed in, his eyes shifting towards the emergency ward where Bones lay. “I will instruct the doctors to continue their endeavour.”

Jim slumped against the wall, his knees giving out when Spock turned away. Aakhai fell into Jim's lap.

“He's going to be all right,” Aakhai said fiercely. Jim wrapped his arms around his daemon. “He's going to be all right. I know it.”

Soft footsteps approached, and someone sat beside him. Jim lifted his head and caught Uhura's gentle eyes. She pressed her lips into a fine line and looped her hand through his arm, hooking around his elbow. Leaning slightly, she touched her head to his shoulder.

Jim couldn't gather words to express his gratitude, could only let his head fall into the sanctuary of his knees once more while they waited.


End file.
